Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has shared the reason he could not celebrate his 70th birthday, revealing that he faced significant personal losses that year.
Speaking during a thanksgiving service at the Methodist Church Nigeria, Cathedral of Unity, Wuse Zone 3, held for the 80th birthday of former Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Chairman Onyema Ugochukwu, Atiku recounted the sorrow he experienced.
He explained that in 2014, the same year he turned 70, he lost several close family members, including his two younger brothers, his father, and an uncle.
He noted that, as the first of his siblings to reach the age of 70, it should have been a joyous milestone. However, the profound grief from losing loved ones overshadowed any celebration.
Atiku expressed gratitude for God’s faithfulness throughout his life and pledged to devote himself even more to serving God and humanity. During the service, he shared, “Ten years ago, when I turned 70,
I was the first of my siblings to reach the age of 70. It should have been a very big celebration, but it wasn’t. Because in 2014, I lost my two younger brothers that same year. My father, and then my uncle, and there was no urge to celebrate.”
He went on to reflect on the premature deaths in his family: “My eldest brother, let it be known, was the best of us all, but he died at 64. My older sister passed away in her 50s.
My immediate junior brother died in the war. My sister, Chinyere, an evangelist, is here with us, and is alive. Ude Chukwu died in February 2014. And in April, another.”